Rob Ford: Late-night bar patrons get visit from mayor, who calls in sick the next day

As city council debated disciplining him in November, Toronto Mayor Rob Ford mocked other councillors by pantomiming drinking and driving. Councillor Paul Ainslie received a three-day licence suspension in May 2013 after police pulled him over, though he was not charged; months earlier, Councillor Ana Bailao pleaded guilty to driving while over the legal alcohol limit.

Mayor Rob Ford ignored questions Friday about whether he spent a late night at a west-end bar before taking the day off Thursday.

Ford did not reply when reporters asked him at City Hall Friday about being seen at 3030 Dundas West, a trendy bar in the Junction, just after midnight on Thursday.

Another patron that night, who spoke to the Star and asked not to be named, said Ford arrived at the bar around 12:20 a.m. He said Ford was “apparently inebriated,” was “coherent yet jovial” and appeared “impressed with the pinball machines” that line a brick wall in the large, open space.

The source said he did not see Ford drinking before exiting the bar himself, which was shortly after the mayor arrived.

Another person with knowledge of that night said Ford showed up and didn’t personally order any drinks. It is not clear how Ford arrived at or departed the bar.

A staff member at 3030 Dundas, who did not give his name, confirmed Ford was at the bar Wednesday with several others, but said he wasn't drinking.

Several media outlets reported Ford’s office said he was on a “sick day” Thursday. Online that afternoon, the mayor’s Twitter account proclaimed Feb. 6 to be Bob Marley Day.

“The mayor is not feeling well today. He has taken the day off,” Ford’s press secretary Amin Massoudi told the Toronto Sun.